The Sketchbook Symbol in Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh
The Sketchbook as a Living Record of Self and Connection
In Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh, the sketchbook is far more than a prop or a hobbyist's accessory. It is a portable, evolving artifact that tracks Audrey Cameron's emotional arc from creative paralysis to passionate reawakening, and it becomes the primary medium through which she and Lucy Sinclair learn to see—and be seen by—each other. The object itself changes meaning as the story progresses: it begins as a symbol of loss and blocked potential, transforms into a gift of encouragement and a canvas for genuine expression, and finally becomes a farewell note and a testament to the love Audrey leaves behind. By tracing the sketchbook's journey, readers can map the novel's central concerns about duty versus desire, the search for authentic self-expression, and the courage required to risk love.
What the Sketchbook Literally Is
Audrey's sketchbook is a worn, dust-covered volume she keeps on a shelf underneath the cash register at Cameron's Corner Shop. In the opening chapter, she flips through its older pages—filled with portraits of customers who passed through the store—only to watch those filled pages give way to half-started sketches and then to "blank page after blank page after blank page." The blankness is not a lack of paper but a symptom of her creative block, which began after her ex-boyfriend Charlie broke up with her before Halloween. Charlie, who had been rejected from RISD and gave up art, had encouraged Audrey to do the same, and his influence lingers in a tiny doodle of her dog Cooper with a thought bubble that reads "I love you!"—a reminder she grimaces at and slams shut. The sketchbook thus opens as a symbol of everything Audrey has lost: her passion, her confidence, and her sense of identity as an artist.
Later, in 1812, Lucy gives Audrey a new sketchbook and pencils wrapped in twine, a gift that rekindles her ability to draw. This second sketchbook becomes the one Audrey fills with drawings of Lucy and ultimately leaves behind. The two sketchbooks—the old one in Pittsburgh and the new one in Radcliffe—are distinct objects, but they function as a single symbolic thread: the first represents the blockage, the second represents the breakthrough. By the novel's end, Mr. Montgomery returns Audrey's portfolio of drawings to her in 2023, suggesting that the art she created in the past has traveled with her, completing the circle.
Where the Sketchbook Recurs and How Its Meaning Shifts
The sketchbook appears at pivotal moments, each time carrying a different weight.
Chapter 1 – The Blank Page as Stagnation. Audrey's original sketchbook is introduced as a source of shame and frustration. She cannot draw, and the blank pages mirror her stalled life. Mr. Montgomery gives her a pack of her favorite pens and tells her not to give up, but she still opens to a blank page and hopes for a spark that does not come. Here the sketchbook symbolizes the gap between who Audrey was and who she fears she has become.
Chapter 19 – The Gift and the First Line. Lucy presents Audrey with a new sketchbook and pencils, gently urging her to draw for herself rather than for external expectations. Lucy's words—"just do it for yourself, Audrey"—break through Audrey's resistance. When Audrey finally puts pencil to paper, she draws Lucy over and over: arched eyebrows, wisps of golden hair, sharp collarbones, the same heart-shaped face. The act of drawing becomes an act of seeing and being seen. The sketchbook transforms from a site of blockage into a site of connection and passion.
Chapter 23 – The Sketchbook as a Mirror of Relationships. Audrey reflects on how Charlie had insisted she leave the portraits she loved most out of her application and encouraged her to pursue abstract, modern, "empty" art. Lucy, by contrast, makes her want to create again and understands her art more than Charlie ever did. The sketchbook becomes a measure of the difference between a relationship that stifles and one that nurtures.
Chapter 33 – The Sketchbook as Farewell. When Audrey decides to leave Radcliffe to protect Lucy's reputation, she writes a brief apology note on a blank page and slides the entire sketchbook under Lucy's door. The object that once held Audrey's creative spark now holds her confession and her goodbye. It is both a gift and a wound—a record of everything Audrey felt but could not say aloud.
Chapter 34 – The Sketchbook as Evidence of Being Seen. Lucy throws the sketchbook across the room, pages flying out, and then gathers the drawings one by one: Audrey's sketches of her at the piano, riding through the glade, laughing at the dining table, fast asleep. For Lucy, these drawings are proof that someone saw a version of her she had always wanted to be seen—a version that, she fears, will no longer exist. The sketchbook becomes a painful reminder of the love she has lost, and it drives her to accelerate her wedding to Mr. Caldwell and to burn the hidden books in the library, symbolically rejecting the possibility of passion.
Chapter 39 – The Sketchbook Returned. After Audrey wakes in Pittsburgh, Mr. Montgomery gives her a portfolio of her drawings, and she and Lucy decline to send them elsewhere. The sketchbook's journey ends with the art preserved, not abandoned. It now represents the love that survived across time and the future Audrey and Lucy will build together.
Character Connections
Audrey Cameron is defined by her relationship to the sketchbook. Her creative block is tied directly to her heartbreak over Charlie and her fear of failure. The blank pages are a physical manifestation of her loss of self. When Lucy gives her a new sketchbook, Audrey rediscovers not just her skill but her passion—the "spark" she thought was gone. The sketchbook also becomes a vehicle for her to explore her sexuality; as she draws Lucy, she realizes she has never been with a girl before and that the box she had tucked away is now flung open. The sketchbook is thus inseparable from Audrey's journey toward authentic self-expression and self-knowledge.
Lucy Sinclair is the subject of the drawings and the recipient of the sketchbook. For Lucy, the sketchbook represents being truly seen. She has spent her life hiding her true self—her love of music, her secret books on love and passion—from her father. Audrey's drawings capture the warmth and softness in Lucy's eyes that her father's portrait erased. When Audrey leaves the sketchbook behind, Lucy's reaction—throwing it, then clutching the pages—shows how deeply she valued being known. The sketchbook becomes a symbol of the connection that gives Lucy the courage to eventually choose herself at the altar.
Mr. Montgomery serves as a catalyst. He gives Audrey the pens that nudge her toward trying again, and later he orchestrates her time travel and returns her portfolio. He represents the external belief in Audrey's potential that she cannot yet muster herself. His role ties the sketchbook to the theme of taking risks for love and self-determination.
Charlie is the negative counterpoint. His influence is literally inscribed in the sketchbook through the doodle of Cooper, and his critiques shaped Audrey's earlier, "empty" art. The sketchbook's blank pages are a legacy of his discouragement. Lucy's gift of a new sketchbook symbolically overwrites Charlie's influence.
Theme Connections
The sketchbook weaves through several of the novel's central themes:
- The Tension Between Duty and Desire. Lucy's duty to marry Mr. Caldwell clashes with her desire for Audrey. The sketchbook, filled with drawings of Lucy, is a tangible expression of that desire—something Lucy's father would never approve of. When Lucy burns her hidden books after Audrey leaves, she is rejecting desire in favor of duty, but the sketchbook's pages remain, a stubborn reminder of what she felt.
- The Search for Authentic Self-Expression Through Art. Audrey's block is not just about technique; it is about losing the ability to express her true self. Drawing Lucy—a real person, with warmth and specificity—restores that authenticity. The sketchbook becomes a record of art made for love, not for approval.
- The Constraints of Societal Expectations on Love and Identity. In 1812, Lucy cannot choose her own husband, and Audrey cannot openly love her. The sketchbook is a private space where those constraints do not apply, but it also becomes a liability—something that could expose their feelings. Audrey's decision to leave it behind is an acknowledgment of those constraints.
- The Importance of Being Truly Seen and Understood. The drawings are the clearest example of one character truly seeing another. Lucy's reaction to the sketches—"Evidence of Audrey seeing a version of me that I had always wanted seen"—captures the theme perfectly.
- The Courage to Take Risks for Love and Self-Determination. The sketchbook is both a risk and a reward. Audrey risks drawing again, risks loving Lucy, and ultimately risks leaving the sketchbook as a confession. Lucy risks choosing herself at the altar. The sketchbook is the artifact that makes those risks visible.
Study Questions with Answers
1. How does the sketchbook's meaning change from the beginning of the novel to the end?
At the start, the sketchbook is a symbol of Audrey's creative block and emotional paralysis—blank pages that mirror her inability to move forward after Charlie. After Lucy gives her a new sketchbook, it becomes a symbol of reawakening and connection, filled with drawings that capture Lucy's true self. By the end, it transforms into a farewell gift and a record of love, and finally into a preserved portfolio that Audrey and Lucy choose to keep together. The arc moves from loss to expression to commitment.
2. What does Lucy's reaction to the sketchbook in Chapter 34 reveal about her character?
Lucy's initial anger—throwing the sketchbook across the room—shows her devastation at being abandoned. But her subsequent gathering of the drawings, clutching them to her chest, reveals how deeply she valued being seen by Audrey. The sketches give her a glimpse of a version of herself she had always wanted known, and losing that possibility drives her to accelerate her wedding and burn her hidden books. Her reaction shows that the sketchbook was not just art to her; it was proof of love and understanding.
3. How does the sketchbook contrast Audrey's relationships with Charlie and Lucy?
Charlie's influence is tied to the old sketchbook: he discouraged her from drawing portraits, pushed her toward abstract and "empty" art, and left a doodle that she slams shut. Lucy, by contrast, gives her a new sketchbook and encourages her to draw for herself, without pressure. The act of drawing Lucy is described as giving a part of herself, pouring out her thoughts and desires. The sketchbook thus becomes a measure of which relationship allows Audrey to be her authentic self.
4. Why does Audrey leave the sketchbook under Lucy's door, and what does this action signify?
Audrey leaves the sketchbook as a farewell because she believes she must protect Lucy's reputation and cannot risk destroying her life. The sketchbook contains all the drawings of Lucy—evidence of Audrey's love and of how she saw Lucy—so leaving it is both a confession and a goodbye. It signifies Audrey's willingness to sacrifice her own happiness for Lucy's safety, and it also leaves behind the only tangible proof of their connection. The action underscores the theme of taking risks for love, even when the risk means letting go.
Conclusion
The sketchbook in Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh is a deceptively simple object that carries the novel's emotional weight. It begins as a symbol of what Audrey has lost, becomes a canvas for what she discovers, and ends as a testament to what she is willing to give up and, ultimately, to keep. Through its pages, the novel explores how art can be both a private refuge and a bridge between two people, and how the courage to create—and to love—can transform a blank page into a life.
For further exploration, see the themes of the tension between duty and desire, the search for authentic self-expression through art, and the importance of being truly seen and understood. You can also revisit the character pages for Audrey Cameron and Lucy Sinclair.